Nisi Dear Poem by Bill Galvin

Loving sister to Deb, and concerned so now for me.
Yes, God took another good one…
Yet, as we know, he has to balance the scales,
So, that there are enough angels around to help us.

The car is parked halfway down, facing west,
On winding Cadillac Mountain Road.
A favorite location for sunset views for me,
And for sensing the quiet end of another day.

It’s the place where granite ledges are flat,
And if one needed to, between the rocks,
A small tent or two can be fit on the sandy fill.
Of course, this is not legal, and never was.

But we were strapped for money and time,
Arriving late, it was Deb and I, you and Kirstin,
Your high school mate – 1977 – eons ago.

And when the Park Ranger pulled us over
On the next bright morning, we with aching backs,
And beckoning breakfast appetites,
And declared, “You camped illegally last night”;
I replied, “We are not oblivious, Sir. We love Nature, too.
We did nothing but lay down our weary heads;
And no scar, no broken twig, no sign should be found
Of our occurrence there.” He let us go. It was true.

It’s foggy tonight, so the sun will not be seen;
After a spell cast by classical quietude,
I’ll drift on down to town.

But, let me say, every time we’d sit at this location,
We’d look over to that granite flat…
“Remember that time when…? ”
“Yes. Yes. I know.” Deb would usually say.
“You’ve told that story over and over again.”

Ah, how I miss her bold and playful rejoinders.

OK. So one last time. For old times sake. OK?

7-14-2015